Crypt burial apparatus

ABSTRACT

A burial apparatus for underground crypts, preferably those that include space for two stacked caskets, which apparatus includes a ground auger, a turnbuckle connected thereto and a flanged inverted L-shaped member connected to the turnbuckle and engaged with the crypt to retain the crypt within the ground. The apparatus works particularly well with an empty crypt and with a dual crypt when opened to receive a second casket.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention pertains to new double depth crypt burial apparatuswhich employs a crypt retention means; namely a ground auger.

RELATION TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is a continuation in part of our co-pendingapplication U.S. Ser. No. 09/093,987 filed Jun. 8, 1998.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to an underground crypt having twohorizontally spaced crypt compartments for two horizontally stackedcaskets in one double depth crypt vault with a center dividing shelf toseparate the two horizontally stacked caskets and sealed with a vaultlid.

[0004] At the present time, it is becoming more feasible to cemeteriesto use double depth lawn crypts so that two caskets in a single grave ispossible. This provides greater utilization of land.

[0005] It is desirable to have one single crypt vault unit that cancarry two stacked caskets that can be placed even next to a singleburial if so desired.

[0006] The center dividing shelf employed serves to insure that a secondburial in the same grave opening will not disturb the casket of thefirst burial.

[0007] The problem arises sometimes that due to excess water or improperburial procedures, that a crypt may tend to rise upwardly and displacesoil. Therefore, applicants have devised a new burial APPARATUS whichutilizes at least one ground auger in combination with a turnbuckle toretain the crypt at its desired depth. Often when the second burial isabout to transpire and the weight of the earth on the crypt is removed,the large crypt may tend to rise. Such could prove not only to beembarrassing, but could create an air pocket beneath the crypt, whichcould render the completion of the reburial somewhat difficult. Also,should it be desired to bury the crypt empty in anticipation of lateroccupancy, the ground augers retain the crypt below ground. Thus theneed is seen for the burial apparatus of this invention which comprisesa double depth crypt with at least one turnbuckle ground auger attachedthereto.

[0008] The invention accordingly comprises the device possessing thefeatures properties and the relation of components which are exemplifiedin the following detailed disclosure and the scope of the application ofwhich will be indicated in the appended claims.

[0009] For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of theinvention reference should be made to the detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the double depth crypt vault ofthis invention.

[0011]FIG. 2 is a sectional view thereof with a vault lid attached.

[0012]FIG. 3 is a front to back sectional view of the combined vault andlid.

[0013]FIG. 4 is a top view of the vault lid.

[0014]FIG. 5 is a top view of the vault floor.

[0015]FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a divider shelf as used herein.

[0016]FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the divider shelf.

[0017]FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the placement of the elementdepicted in FIG. 7.

[0018]FIG. 9 is a top view of a portion of the inventive apparatus.

[0019]FIG. 10 is a side view of the lid portion of the invention.

[0020]FIG. 11 is an elevational view of a security clip employed herein.

[0021]FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic view of the engagement of two portionsof the invention.

[0022]FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of an element of thisinvention.

[0023]FIG. 14 is an end view of the element shown in FIG. 13.

[0024]FIG. 15 is a closeup view similar to FIG. 2 showing the variouscomponents of the burial system of this invention.

[0025]FIG. 16 is a top view of an element of a portion of the invention.

[0026]FIG. 17 is an end view of a stiffener rib as employed herein.

[0027]FIG. 18 is a top plan view of a common turnbuckle.

[0028]FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a security clip employed herein.

[0029]FIG. 20 is an elevation view of a common turnbuckle.

[0030]FIG. 21 is a top view of another element employed herein.

[0031]FIGS. 22 and 23 show a side view of the lower end of a turn buckleattached to the auger mount plate's vertical section.

[0032]FIG. 24 is a diagrammatic view depicting the engagement of thevault lid and vault.

[0033]FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a clamping means for theretention of the flexible flange of the burial apparatus of thisinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0034] The present invention relates to which vault is used inconjunction with at least one turnbuckle based ground auger to form asafe and secure burial system. The present invention provides a means tobe engaged to a slotted handle, which is defined herein as an extendedsupport unit of a burial crypt, to hold the crypt vault in place when inthe grave site. The means constitutes at least one and preferably twoground augers, each having one end of a turnbuckle connected thereto,the turnbuckle being connected at its other to a flanged invertedL-shaped member which engages the slotted handle of a crypt.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0035]FIG. 1 depicts the present invention of a single unit double depthcrypt vault 1 with support stiffeners ribs 20 and crypt vault lid 10with security clips 30 securing the vault lid to the vault walls. Asshown there is a ground auger 37 that is to be drilled into the lowerportion of the ground below the vault to hold the vault in place. Thisis to assure that if the vault is preset in the ground with no caskets,the ground auger 37 will hold the double depth crypt vault in place.

[0036]FIG. 2 shows the vault lid 10 and side view of double depth cryptvault with support stiffener ribs 20 along with indentation for lowerstraps 22 in the bottom of the vault 16 and in the center dividing shelf24. Temporary support bars 26 hold up dividing shelf 24 and allow wallsupport against the ground pressure of dirt. Rubber seal 12 for vaultlid 10, extended support unit 32 that holds the top of the ground auger37 unit in place. Tie down bracket 34 connects to the top of turn buckle36. The bottom of turn buckle 36 connects to auger plate 38 that isconnected to ground auger shaft 40.

[0037]FIG. 3 is the end view of the present invention with supportstiffener ribs 20 in the vault lid 10 and support stiffener ribs 20 inthe vault walls 14 and vault bottom floor 16 also showing the centerdividing shelf 24 resting on temporary support 26. There is a roundrubber gasket seal 12 that surrounds the entire vault lid and mates withthe top vault walls.

[0038]FIG. 4 is a top view of the vault 10 and the support stiffenerribs 20 along with the areas 28 for secure clips 30 to be attached.These secure clips 30 retain the lid to the vault walls. See also FIG.9.

[0039]FIG. 5 is also a top view of the vault floor 16. The support ribs20 are seen as are the indentation 22 in the floor structure used tofacilitate removal of the lowering straps when a casket is laid to restin the crypt.

[0040]FIG. 6 is a vertical view of the center dividing shelf 24 and theindentations 22 for the lowering straps, not seen.

[0041]FIG. 7 is a top view of the vault center dividing shelf 24 whichalso shows the support stiffener ribs 20 and indentations 22 therein forlowering straps, again not seen.

[0042]FIG. 8 showing a top view of the center dividing shelf 24 restingon the temporary support bar 26.

[0043]FIG. 9 depicts a top view showing the area 28 that will hold thesecurity clips 30 to be used to retain the lid in place.

[0044]FIG. 10 shows a side view of a portion of the vault lid, mated tothe vault wall at the security clip area 28 prior to the installation ofthe clip 30 shown in FIG. 11. See also FIG. 12.

[0045]FIG. 11 is an end view of a security clip 30 that holds the vaultwalls at location 28.

[0046]FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the vault lid 10 resting on thevault wall 14 and showing the security clip area 28. A rubber seal 12 isdisposed between the lid and the vault body to seal out moisture andhelp retain the vault lid 10 to the vault wall 14. The balance of theretention is provided by a security clip 30 that can be springinglylocated in place. These are easily removed when the second burial takesplace and returned to position.

[0047]FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of the vault showing the tiedown bracket 34, which is noted to be formed in the configuration of aflexible flanged inverted L-shaped member, which is locked in place inthe extended support unit 32 located at the top of the vault wall. Theaperture 42 at the lower end of said tie down bracket receives one hook36H of the turnbuckle. See FIGS. 13, and 14.

[0048] Auger plate 38 is an inverted T-shaped member, which may haveoptionally chamfered edges for safety reasons, and is shown as such inthe FIG. 22. This plate has a central throughbore 48 for receiving thesecond or lower of the two turnbuckle hooks 36H. Bore 48 is not visiblein FIG. 15. Auger plate 38 is welded to the upper end of the shaft 40 ofground auger 37. Again reference is made to FIG. 22. As in aconventional ground auger, this auger includes at least one flute 41 tobe rotated into the ground as the anchoring means.

[0049]FIG. 14 is an end view of the tie down bracket 34 that is placedon the end of the vault wall 14 that connects to the turn buckle 36.This arcuate flanged inverted L-shaped bracket 34, has its flanged area134 disposed through opening 44 of the extended support unit 32. Thevault lid 10 is seen resting on the vault wall 14 with the rubber seal12 in position to seal the vault lid 10 to the vault wall 14 asdiscussed previously.

[0050]FIG. 15 is a closeup view similar to FIG. 2 showing the variouscomponents of the burial system of this invention. Thus as is seen byreference to FIG. 14,the extended section 32, ie. a handle has a slot 44extending vertically therethrough. The flanged inverted L-shaped member,34, has a flexible flange section 134 integrally attached at the distalend of the short arm (the horizontal arm) of the inverted L-shapedmember. Flange section 134 is placed in the slot 44 from the top of theslot downwardly to engage the slot, leaving the long arm 34L of FIG. 14to depend downwardly.

[0051]FIG. 16 is a top view of the rectangular opening 44 which isformed as a notched area in extended support unit 32 for the downbracket 34 that is at each end of the vault.

[0052]FIG. 17 is an end view of the support stiffener rib 20 that ispart of the vault walls and floor and vault lid and designed for addedstrength shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 12, 17 and 24.

[0053]FIG. 18 is a top view of the turn buckle 36. The turn buckle isdesigned to be connected to the auger that is on each end of the vaultfor the purpose of securing the vault in the ground after is placed inthe grave opening as previously discussed in detail with respect to FIG.15. See FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0054]FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the security clip 30 that locksthe vault lid to the vault walls as shown in FIG. 12. This preferablyspring steel clip can be readily removed when needed for the secondburial.

[0055]FIG. 20 depicts an elevational view of a conventional turn buckle36 that is used to secure the tie down bracket 34 and the auger shaft 40together as shown elsewhere in these drawings and forma a part of theburial system of this invention.

[0056]FIG. 21 shows a top view of the auger plate 38 that is attached tothe bottom of the turn buckle 36.

[0057]FIG. 22 shows a side view of the lower end of the turn buckle 36attached to the auger mount plate 38's vertical section 38V viathroughbore 48 in said vertical section. The horizontal section 38H isattached to the vertical section 38V by fillet welds 50, and thehorizontal section 38H is in turn welded to the auger shaft 40S. Thisview is rotated 90 degrees in FIG. 23.

[0058]FIG. 24 depicts an end view of the vault lid 10 mating with thevault wall 14 with support stiffener rib 20 for strength where the vaultlid 10 mates with the vault wall 14 and in the center of the supportstiffener rib 20 is a rubber seal 12 to assure a good seal.

[0059]FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing a handle having a clampingmechanism for the retention of the flange of the inverted L-shapedmember. Here-the extended support unit is designated 132. A block 133having a pair of screws 137 has its screws tightened into threadedapertures not visible to retain the flexible flange 134 in the slot 138between the block 138 and the extended support unit 132. Other clampingmeans may also be utilized for the same purpose.

[0060] The burial system of this invention which comprises the groundauger connected to the turnbuckle and the turnbuckle in turn connectedto the flanged inverted L-shaped member, also referred to as the tiedown bracket, works in conjunction with the notched out opening, in theextended support unit of the dual casket crypt disclosed herein.

[0061] It is to be seen that the crypt disclosed herein and claimed inour parent application need not be employed. Any crypt that has a meansfor retaining the flanged inverted L-shaped member may be retained inplace by the burial apparatus of this invention. Thus a handle disposedon the crypt which has as a part thereof, a clamping means to hold theflexible flange could also be retained by the safe burial apparatus ofthis invention. The turnbuckle is used in its conventional operatingmode to create a downward force such that the crypt is retained fromrising by the flutes of the auger, buried into the ground below thegrave site.

[0062] Since certain changes may be made in the above describedapparatus without departing from the scope of the invention hereininvolved, it is intended that matter contained in the above descriptionand shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:
 1. An apparatus to ensure the safe burial of crypts byattachment thereto for retention of the crypt in the ground, whichapparatus comprises: a. a flexible flanged inverted L-shaped memberhaving a downwardly depending arm to which is connected at its lowerend, b. a turnbuckle, and which turnbuckle is also connected to, c. aground auger having an auger plate at one end and at least one flute atthe other end, the auger plate being the part of the ground augerconnected to the turnbuckle.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein theturnbuckle includes a pair of oppositely disposed hooks, one of which isdisposed through the auger plate and the other of which is disposedthrough the inverted L-shaped member.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the ground auger has only one flute.
 4. In combination, a burialcrypt having at least one handle thereon, said handle having a flangeretaining means, and an apparatus for ensuring retention of the crypt inthe ground, which apparatus comprises: a. a flexible flanged invertedL-shaped member having a downwardly depending arm to which is connectedat its lower end, b. a turnbuckle, and which turnbuckle is alsoconnected to, c. a ground auger having an auger plate at one end and atleast one flute at the other end, the auger plate being the part of theground auger connected to the turnbuckle.
 5. The combination of claim 4wherein the retaining means on the handle of the crypt is a slot intowhich the flexible flange is inserted.
 6. The combination of claim 4wherein the retaining means on the handle of the crypt is a clamp intowhich the flexible flange is inserted.